Due: Friday, November 3, by 2 p.m., in Professor Leshkowich's office
Length: 5-7 pages, double-spaced

In this section of the course, we have focused on two different phenomena associated with factory production:

1) The impact of factory work on female laborers' lives, families, and social status;
2) The organizing and regimenting of workers' bodies which occurs on the factory floor.

These broader issues raise several questions:

1) Does wage labor in a factory or office increase women's independence and autonomy?
2) What is the relationship between the organization of specific women's bodies in the workplace and the "female body" as a social construct?
3) How does the spread of women's factory labor alter existing power relations?
4) How do notions of the body and gender identity seem to be changing in specific parts of Asia as a result of economic development processes?

In this 5-7 page essay, you are asked to explore the issue of gender and factory work by critically examining how two authors whom we have read (choose from Salaff, Kondo, Foucault, and Ong) address (or would address) one of the questions raised above. If the authors whom you select offer opposing arguments, explore the nature of the disagreement to explain which argument you find convincing and why. If their arguments seem similar, do you agree? Is there an aspect of the issue which they have neglected? Pay particular attention to such issues as definitions, analytical frameworks, underlying assumptions, and evidence -- these will help you to critique each author's approach, enable comparison between the two, and help you to develop a thesis statement which explains how your critical analysis of the two authors points to a better way of answering the question.

Since this is a short essay, you should choose two authors who can easily be placed in dialogue with each other. Use this dialogue to formulate your own argument in answer to the question and be sure to include a clear, interesting thesis statement in your opening paragraph. While you essay should focus primarily on two authors, feel free to refer to other relevant readings.

For more information, contact:  aleshkow@holycross.edu